Cyclones Earn Second-Highest Opening Score

TUCSON, Arizona – The Iowa State gymnastics team (2-1) took second place in Saturday's quad meet at Arizona's McKale Memorial Center. The team's score of 195.750 topped No. 11 Western Michigan (191.800) and Rutgers (194.250), but was just behind No. 13 Arizona's mark of 195.950. The Cyclones' 195.750 is the second-best opening meet score in school history.

Iowa State closed out the meet on a high note with a 49.100 on beam. Four Cyclones posted 9.800s on balance beam, Iowa State's final event. The Cyclones' uneven bars squad also performed well, collecting Iowa State's first 49.000 on the year by posting a 49.075.

Individually, upperclassmen Sydney Converse and Sophia Steinmeyer each performed at a high level. Converse led the charge on beam with a 9.875, while also posting the second-highest score on vault with a 9.850. Converse just trailed teammate Steinmeyer, who won the event with a 9.875. Steinmeyer also tacked on a 9.825 to lead off Iowa State's beam team.

"I am very happy with the way the team kept pulling themselves back together," head coach Jay Ronayne said. "I am quite pleased with how the team responded to everything, including the adversity and the really good stuff. We are looking at a great season ahead of us."

Balance Beam
The Cyclones beam team closed out the meet with the highest apparatus score of the day, notching a 49.100. Four gymnasts finished with scores above 9.800, capped off with a stellar 9.875 by Converse. Palacios (9.825), Steinmeyer (9.825) and Turner (9.800) all eclipsed 9.800, while Meixi Semple just missed the mark with a 9.775.

Senior Sydney Converse
"Sophia always leads us off so strong, so I knew when she started off that the rest of our team would be confident. It created good energy for us finishing the meet and then I was able to build off that and finish strong for the team."

Uneven Bars
The Cyclones wrapped up bars with three scores above the 9.800 mark to get their second-best event score of the day at 49.075. Laura Burns and Natalia Ros Vaquer topped the Cyclones with a pair of 9.850s, with Casandra Diaz not far behind posting a 9.825. Langkamp led off the group with a 9.775 and newcomer Jade Vella-Wright added another 9.775 in her first collegiate event.

Assistant Coach Nilson Medeiros Savage
"We ended up deciding in the last minute to go with the veterans, and that paid off. Laura Burns probably had the best routine she has had in a long time and we put [Vella-Wright] up today and she was able to capitalize on the training she has done. Natalia put the nail in the coffin with a 9.850."

Vault
Iowa State posted a strong 48.975 on vault. Converse and Sophia Steinmeyer bookended the effort with the team's best scores, posting a 9.850 and 9.875, respectively. Sophomore Phoebe Turner picked up where she left off last season with a 9.800, while Kelsey Boychuk (9.750) and Palacios (9.700) rounded out the scoring quintet.

Junior Sophia Steinmeyer
"Sydney started us off with a great stick on vault which made the energy really exciting. We had a little hiccup in there, but I was happy I was able to bring the team back on track to go to bars next."

Floor Exercise
The Cyclones opened the year with a 48.600 on floor. Madelyn Langkamp led off the Cyclone effort with a 9.800, matching her career high. Casandra Diaz started her senior campaign on a high note with a 9.800. Sydney Converse (9.700), Ana Palacios (9.675) and Andrea Maldonado (9.625) also scored for Iowa State.

Head Coach Jay Ronayne
"First event, first meet, there were some opening-meet jitters. We saw some mistakes that never occur in the gym and I told the gymnastics immediately that we are learning every day and that they are getting better every day."

All-Around
Ana Palacios was the lone Cyclone all-arounder, earning a 38.400 in her first attempt at the all-around. She had a brief pause on bars that hurt her score, but she recovered with a 9.825 on beam.

Up Next
The Cyclones are back in action this Friday against West Virginia at Hilton Coliseum. The meet will begin at 6:30 p.m. and televised by Cyclones.tv.

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Players Mentioned

Kelsey Boychuk

Laura Burns

Sydney Converse

Casandra Diaz

Madelyn Langkamp

Andrea Maldonado

Ana Palacios

Natalia Ros Vaquer

Meixi Semple

Sophia Steinmeyer

Phoebe Turner

Jade Vella-Wright

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